Needle selector for circular knitting machines

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a selector device for needles or needle accessories of a circular knitting machine adapted to select the needles or accessories by means of a removable rotary pattern drum whose periphery may be equipped with removable projecting elements arranged according to a predetermined knitting pattern and adapted to operate on the needles or accessories through an assembly of linking elements arranged in a stepped pattern.

United States Patent Bourgeois 1 June 6, 1972 54 NEEDLE SELECTOR FORCIRCULAR 2,208,698 7/1940 Lawson et a1. ..66/50 B KNITTING MACHINES3,310,965 3/1967 Mahler et al. ..66/50 B x [72] Inventor: Norbert PaulBourgeois, 7, place des Char- FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS treux,Troyes, France 565,722 ll 1944 Great Britain ..66/50 B Filed! Main 19706] 7,l74 2/l96l Italy ..66/50 B [21] Appl. No.: 17,656

Primary Examiner-Wm. Carter Reynolds Attorney-Wolf, Greenfield & Hieken[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 10, 1969 France ..6906719[57] ABSTRACT The invention relates to a selector device for needles orneedle accessories of a circular knitting machine adapted to select theneedles or accessories by means of a removable rotary put- [58] Field ofSearch ..66/l4, 25, 50 R, 50 tem drum whose periphery may be equippedwith removable projecting elements arranged according to a predeterminedReferences Cited knitting pattern and adapted to operate on the needlesor accessorles through an assembly of linking elements arranged inUNITED STATES PATENTS a Stepped P 2,040,946 5/1936 Marshall et al..66/50 B 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED N 61912 3.667.253

SHEET 2 BF 4 FIG. 2

PATENTEU 5 SHEET 3 0F 4 FIG.

PATENTEDJUH 6 I972 SHEET 4 [IF 4 FIG. 4

NEEDLE SELECTOR FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES This invention relates toa selector device for needles or needle accessories of circular knittingmachines.

For the activation or deactivation of the needles or other knittinginstruments of circular knitting machines particularly Jacquard"machines, it is known to employ selection devices referred to asmultistage selectors, and comprising one or more pattern or design drumsthe periphery of which is faced with removable projecting controlelements such as pegs or insertable tooth pattern jacks carried by thedrum in varying numbers and pattern in accordance with a predeterminedselection rule.

During the knitting operation, these drums progress in controlledintermittent rotation, their functional generatrixes being immobilizedtemporarily in alignment with superposed linking elements such asselector levers arranged in batteries, the projecting elements acting onlevers at corresponding levels in such manner as to influence, throughthe levers, the needles or instruments to be selected.

The majority of the elements constituting each device, namely thepattern drum, battery of selector levers, actuating mechanisms, etc., isnormally assembled on a common bearer with a principal platform of themachine carrying control elements, such as cams and co-ordinatedmechanisms which control the knitting operation.

Each time it becomes necessary to change the selection rule, in the caseof a change of pattern or knitting design it is necessary to provide adifferent distribution of the projecting elements on the differentpattern drums of the machine.

One solution consists in performing this operation on the machineitself, drum by drum, by insertion or permutation of the projectingelements. This operation, which is relatively simple in the case ofmachines comprising a small number of knitting "stations andconsequently of selector devices, becomes more tedious on modernmulti-feed machines equipped with high capacity pattern drums and forwhich a modification of this nature may, frequently in difficult accessconditions, require the retraction and insertion of more than a thousandpattern jacks or of several tens of thousands of removable pegs. Thisoperation must be performed while the machine is stopped andconsequently entails a considerable loss of production time.

On some known devices, this difficulty has been reduced by incorporatingremovable pattern drums which may be separated from their controlmechanism, either to perform a modification in the arrangement of theprojecting elements while disassembled, or to replace these by otherdrums preset in accordance with another selection pattern.

The practical application of this solution commonly requires theoperator to undertake particular manipulations such as the withdrawaland repositioning of the elements fastening the drum to its actuatingelements, without overlooking the need to break the contact between allthe selector levers and the projecting elements corresponding to these,to ensure an adequate freedom of movement for the pattern drum enablingthe same to be separated from its actuating mechanism. I

This set of operations is frequently onerous for the operator, inparticular in the case in which it is intended to make changes in thepattern on automatic machines comprising knitting stations in closeformation, in which the small spaces allotted to the selector elementsand the bulk of the adjacent mechanisms occasionally imposes the need towithdraw the device as a complete assembly, with the attendant risksimplied in a manipulation of this kind, particularly selection errorswhich could result from imprecise repositioning of the assembly.

The present invention provides a selector device for needles or needleaccessories of a circular knitting machine adapted to select the needlesor accessories by means of a removable rotary pattern drum whoseperiphery may be equipped with removable projecting elements arrangedaccording to a predetermined knitting pattern and adapted to operate onthe needles or accessories through an assembly of linking elementsarranged in a stepped pattern, wherein mounting means for the drum isdisplaceable between an active position in which the projecting elementsare adapted to co-operate with the stepped linking elements to act onthe needles or accessories to be selected, and an inactive position inwhich the device is removed from the needles or accessories, theassembly of linking elements co-operating with fixed abutment meansduring displacement of the mounting means from the active to theinactive position, and abutment means being adapted to remove thelinking elements from contact with the projecting elements to enable apattern drum to be removed from the mounting means.

The invention will now be described by way of an example with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial section through a conventional circular Jacquardknitting machine comprising rotary needle-carrying beds, and showing aselection device according to the invention in its active position;

FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, with the selection devicebeing shown in its inactive position, away from the needles;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the machine showing the selector devicein its inactive position and FIG. 4 is a fractional end view of themachine showing the I selector device.

Referring to the drawings, a cylinder 1 of the circular knitting machineis rotatably carried by an annular bearer 2 together with a driving ring(not illustrated) and the cylinder has on its periphery grooves 3 inwhich are slidably mounted independent needles 4 each associated with apivoting needle selector jacks or lifter 5.

The needle jacks or lifters are provided in a conventional manner withselection catches 6a to 6: arranged in stepped pattern as illustrated inFIG. 4, and each needle jack is further provided with a an operativebutt 7 which, by means of the selector device yet to be described, mayeither be drawn aside or caused to co-operate with a lifting cam 8secured to a lower annular cam-box 9, which is itself carried by astationary principal platform 10.

A second annular cam-box 11 carrying needle control cams l2, 13, isattached to the lower cam-box by means of spacing posts 14 and 15 (FIG.3).

The selector device, comprises a pattern drum, linking elements,actuating mechanism, etc. assembled on a common supporting tie or bearer16 adapted to slide between two lateral guides l7, l8 fastened to thelower cam carrier by means of screws 19, and each comprising a steppedpart 20 for insertion into grooves 21 of the sliding plate 16, in suchmanner that the latter can only move in the radial direction.

The pattern drumcomprises a cylindrical socket 22 adapted to turn freelyaround a spindle 23 fastened to the sliding plate 16, while being heldlongitudinally by means of a screw 24 and lock-washer 25.

The base of the socket 22 is formed as a ratchet wheel 26, intermittentrotation of which is controlled by a pawl 27 carried by a slider 28,displacement of which is controlled by a cam 29 carried by the rotarybearer 2, and acted upon by a return spring 30.

A removable cylindrical sleeve 31 is fitted over the outside of thesocket 22 to which it is rotationally locked by means of a key 122; onthe periphery, of sleeve 22 are provided a series of axial groovesforming the functional generatrixes of the drum, and intended to receiveremovable selection elements 32 equipped with prefragmentable projectingteeth 32a to 32i, distributed in varying number and pattern according tothe requirements of a knitting pattern.

The selection elements 32 are provided with flanges 33 which ensuretheir longitudinal positioning, the relative heights of the socket andsleeve, being such that the flanges bear on the upper surface of thesocket 22.

i The selection elements are held laterally at their lower and upperextremities, respectively, by engagement behind a retention collar 34,and by a removable cover 35 covering the upper portion of the removablesleeve 31.

A battery of superposed linking elements 36a to 36i pivotally arrangedaround a common spindle 37 secured to the sliding plate 16, is arrangedin stepped relationship with the prefragmentable teeth 32a to 321' ofthe selection elements. Each linking element of the battery has anactive control part 38 intended to exert a selective influence on thestepped butts of the needle jacks, and a sensor projection 39permanently kept in contact with the selection elements 32 under theaction of a return spring 40 when in the active position. Moreover, eachlinking element in the area of its active part comprises a notch whereofone of the edges 41 penetrates into the corresponding groove 42 of acommon guide 43. On the spindle 37, spacing rings or washers 44 ensure acorrect stepped distribution of the different linking levers orelements. A bolt 45 pivotally arranged on a fixed pin 46 in a recess 47in the base of the bearing 16, has an overhanging portion whoseextremity 48 is chamfered to facilitate its manipulation, and comprisesan undercut part 49 intended to be applied, under the thrust exerted bya compression spring 50 bearing against the base of the lower cam-box,against the step 51 of an abutment 52 attached to the stationaryplatform by means of screws 53 in such manner that the selector deviceas a whole is held locked in its active position as shown in FIG. 1.

The bolt 45 further includes a transverse notch 54 intended to receivethe step or shoulder 51, to lock the selector device as a whole in aninactive retracted position, separated from the needles, as shown inFIG. 2. I

To ensure a correct axial positioning of the removable sleeve 31, athrust element formed by a metal ball 55 held under the action of aspring 57 within a recess in a supporting element 56 secured to theupper annular cam-box ll, exerts a constant thrust against the cover 35when the selector device is in its active position.

When it is necessary to replace or insert new selection elements on thepattern drum, it is sufficient to apply a light upward pressure on theextremity 48 of the pivoting bolt 45 to free the notched or stepped part49 from contact with the shoulder 51, then to perform a simple radialdisplacement of the sliding bearer 16 while releasing the bolt until thetransverse notch 54 engages the step 51 to immobilize the device asawhole in its inactive position.

During displacement of the device, the surface 58 of the notched part orindented part of each linking element 36a to 36: comes into abutment onone of the spacing posts or butting means 14 supporting the upper camcarrier 11, thus drawing the set of sensor projections 39 away from thecorresponding prefragmentable teeth of the selector elements 32.

The operator may then free the removable sleeve 31 from the assembly ofits actuating mechanisms and may proceed either with permutation orinsertion of new elements, or with replacement of sleeve 31 with anothersleeve equipped with elements arranged according to a differentselection pattern.

Thedevice is shown in its inactive position in FIG. 2, the removablesleeve carrying selection elements being illustrated dash-dotted,separated from its actuating mechanism.

Due to the difierence in level between the upper surface of theremovable sleeve 31 and that of the socket 22, only this last surfaceacts as a support for the flanges 33 of the selection elements.

Although the device described and illustrated relates more specificallyto a circular knitting machine having one or more rotary needle-carryingneedle beds, the invention is equally applicable to circular machineshaving stationary needle beds.

It is evident that, in the case of machines comprising twoneedle-carrying needle beds, the selector device of the invention canensure the selection of the needles or accessories of one or the otherof the two needle beds, or of both at the same time.

It is possible to incorporate moreover, for one and the same knittingstation, a device comprising several pattern drums, intended to exert asimultaneous or consecutive action on the needles oraccessories to beselected, for example to form fabrics requiring the activation ofneedles at different levels, the possibility also being available togroup the pattern drum or drums allocated to several consecutiveknitting stations on a common sliding bearer plate.

What is claimed is:

1. A selector device for needles or needle accessories of a circularknitting machine comprising:

a removable rotary pattern drum having removable selection elements,disposed about its periphery, with projecting teeth arranged accordingto a predetermined pattern;

an assembly of linking elements arranged in a stepped pattern locatedintermediate the pattern drum and needles or accessories and adapted tocause operation of the needles or accessories;

a bemer movable in relation tothe needles or accessories for receivingthe pattern drum and assembly of linking elements;

means for rotating the pattern drum;

said bearer being displaceable between an active position in which theprojecting teeth are adapted to cooperate with the linking elements toact on the needles or accessories to be selected, and an inactiveposition in which the pattern drum and linking elements are removed awayfrom the needles or accessories;

fixed butting means against which said linking elements act duringdisplacement of said bearer from the active to the inactive position tothereby remove said linking elements from contact with said projectingelements; and

an abutment and locking means cooperating with the abutmerit to securesaid bearer in the active position.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 comprising a base plate having aslideway, said bearer including a bearer plate carried in the slidewayenabling linear movement of the bearer plate between the active andinactive positions.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said locking means may alsocooperate with said abutment to secure said bearer in the inactiveposition. I

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 comprising resilient thrust meansfor axially holding the pattern drum in alignment with the linkingelements when the bearer is in its active position.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pattern drum includes arotary cylindrical socket surrounded by a removable cylindrical sleeve,the periphery of which is provided with a series of axial grooves toreceive said removable selection elements with the said selectionelements each having a radially inwardly extending flange adapted torest against the top of the socket.

6. A selector device for needles or needle accessories of a circularknitting machine comprising:

a removable rotary pattern drum having removable selection elements,disposed about its periphery, with projecting teeth arranged accordingto a predetermined pattern;

an assembly of linking elements arranged in a stepped pattern locatedintermediate the pattern drum and needles or accessories and adapted tocause operation of the needles or accessories; a bearer movable inrelation to the needles or accessories for receiving the pattern drumand assembly of linking provided with a series of axial grooves toreceive removable selection elements with the said selection elementseach having a radially, inwardly extending flange adapted to restagainst the top of the socket.

9. A device as set forth in claim 6 and further comprising an abutmentand locking means cooperating with the abutment to secure said bearer inthe active position.

1. A selector device for needles or needle accessories of a circularknitting machine comprising: a removable rotary pattern drum havingremovable selection elements, disposed about its periphery, withprojecting teeth arranged according to a predetermined pattern; anassembly of linking elements arranged in a stepped pattern locatedintermediate the pattern drum and needles or accessories and adapted tocause operation of the needles or accessories; a bearer movable inrelation to the needles or accessories for receiving the pattern drumand assembly of linking elements; means for rotating the pattern drum;said bearer being displaceable between an active position in which theprojecting teeth are adapted to cooperate with the linking elements toact on the needles or accessories to be selected, and an inactiveposition in which the pattern drum and linking elements are removed awayfrom the needles or accessories; fixed butting means against which saidlinking elements act during displacement of said bearer from the activeto the inactive position to thereby remove said linking elements fromcontact with said projecting elements; and an abutment and locking meanscooperating with the abutment to secure said bearer in the activeposition.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1 comprising a base platehaving a slideway, said bearer including a bearer plate carried in theslideway enabling linear movement of the bearer plate between the activeand inactive positions.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidlocking means may also cooperate with said abutment to secure saidbearer in the inactive position.
 4. A device as set forth in claim 1comprising resilient thrust means for axially holding the pattern drumin alignment with the linking elements when the bearer is in its activeposition.
 5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pattern drumincludes a rotary cylindrical socket surrounded by a removablecylindrical sleeve, the periphery of which is provided with a series ofaxial grooves to receive said removable selection elements with the saidselection elements each having a radially inwardly extending flangeadapted to rest against the top of the socket.
 6. A selector device forneedles or needle accessories oF a circular knitting machine comprising:a removable rotary pattern drum having removable selection elements,disposed about its periphery, with projecting teeth arranged accordingto a predetermined pattern; an assembly of linking elements arranged ina stepped pattern located intermediate the pattern drum and needles oraccessories and adapted to cause operation of the needles oraccessories; a bearer movable in relation to the needles or accessoriesfor receiving the pattern drum and assembly of linking elements; meansfor rotating the pattern drum; said bearer being displacable between anactive position in which the projecting teeth are adapted to cooperatewith the linking elements to act on the needles or accessories to beselected, and an inactive position in which the pattern drum and linkingelements are removed away from the needles or accessories; fixed buttingmeans against which said linking elements act during displacement ofsaid bearer from the active to the inactive position, to thereby removesaid linking elements from contact with said projecting teeth; and afixed thrust element for axially holding the pattern drum on the bearerin the active position of the bearer.
 7. A device as set forth in claim6 wherein said pattern drum has on its periphery a series of radialgrooves for receiving the selection elements, said thrust element alsofor maintaining said selection elements on the pattern drum.
 8. A deviceas set forth in claim 6 wherein the pattern drum of the bearer includesa rotary cylindrical socket surrounded by a removable cylindricalsleeve, the periphery of which is provided with a series of axialgrooves to receive removable selection elements with the said selectionelements each having a radially, inwardly extending flange adapted torest against the top of the socket.
 9. A device as set forth in claim 6and further comprising an abutment and locking means cooperating withthe abutment to secure said bearer in the active position.